


No More Camping Trips

by Stablemonkey



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Halloween, Horror, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Unfriendly original characters, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 21:55:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12308616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stablemonkey/pseuds/Stablemonkey
Summary: Scott and Virgil camping in the woods, what’s the worst that could happen?Werewolves and crazy people, that’s what.Originally meant for Halloween but I didn’t think it was halloweeny enough.





	No More Camping Trips

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn’t planned this one, had the idea this morning and wanted to post it for Halloween but it came out like this and I didn’t think it was good enough for a Halloween story. It’s a horror, thriller, supernatural thing and I’m really nervous about posting it because I haven’t written anything like this before.
> 
> If you like this kind of thing, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> If it’s not your thing, please don’t read it, I don’t want to upset anyone.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Thunderbirds, I’m only borrowing them for fun.

No More Camping Trips.

Virgil ran, his legs impacted harshly with the uneven terrain. His torch helped to stop him from tripping but it was only good enough to light the darkness of the woodland around him a small way. Twigs snapped under his feet, the rustle of bushes as they brushed his body all seemed to sound so very loud in the dead of night. But the howl, that was louder than anything else.

He couldn’t look back, he had to keep pressing forward. He wasn’t faster than a wolf.

He had to find a place to hide, had to find safety but there was nowhere to go.

Rustling that wasn’t from him turned his head, he knew he shouldn’t but fear convinced him otherwise and it was a mistake. His foot caught, a raised root hooked his boot and he yelped as he fell forward. The impact wasn’t hard, but the sharp pain radiating from his ankle clearly told him his running was done. He shuffled back quickly, tucked himself under the tree whose root had brought him to a stop and waited. Breathing heavily through his pain and fear, Virgil snuffed his light and squinted into the blackness. He tried to calm his breathing, but it was a futile effort, even if he could the wolf would hear his raging heart and smell his fright.

A growl to his left brought tremors to his body, wide eyed and shuddering breaths, he turned his head to see the darkness undulating around bright blue eyes.

“Scotty,” Virgil whispered, he pushed himself further into the trunk. The wolf snarled and edged closer, lips pulled back exposing sharp teeth to the blackness and he couldn’t sit in the dark any longer. Cautiously, Virgil lifted his torch with a trembling hand, he pointed it away from the hulking mass that circled to his front, so close to his feet now. He flicked the switch and got his first glimpse of his brother, all dark brown fur, terrifyingly large and looming closer.

Virgil lifted his free hand, hoping Scott would still be able to recognise the gesture, to see he wasn’t a threat. Or dinner. “Scotty, please.”

Scott growled.

Virgil lowered his hand and froze, his heart pounded so loudly he knew Scott could tell it was beating faster than before. He was going to die, mauled and devoured by the one person he knew could never hurt him. If Scott did this, if he became aware that he had, it would kill him. So Virgil had to make sure that never happened.

“Scotty, listen to me. Please, you have to be in there somewhere.” Virgil said, he took deeper breaths to try and calm his aching heart. The wolf ducked down, sniffed intently at his pained ankle.

Virgil sucked in a breath and the wolf glanced up, looked in his eyes for one brief moment before opening his jaws and biting down on the heel of his boot. Virgil panted, eyes widened as the wolf tugged and he screamed at the pain it caused, he dropped the torch and slapped his palms to the ground, hands fisted in the dirt at his sides. Scott continued to pull as tears blurred Virgil’s vision, he begged through gritted teeth for Scott to stop before a gunshot rang out.

The crack of the gun echoed around them, startled them both and Scott dropped Virgil’s foot and bolted into the dark. Virgil gasped through the pain and fear, through the sadness that his brother was gone as a light appeared to his right. He ignored it and stared at the darkness his brother had retreated to.

“Hey, buddy. You okay there?”

Virgil dropped his eyes closed and breathed out a deep, shuddering breath. His brother was a wolf, of course he wasn’t all right. “No.”

“Well don’t you worry none, that wolf ain’t coming back any time soon.” The man said, he stepped closer and squatted to inspect Virgil’s ankle. “Tried to take a bite outta you, huh? It don’t look broken, and it ain’t cut so I think you got off lucky, boy.”

“Yeah,” Virgil grunted. “Lucky.”

“I got a cabin about two kilometres out that way, think you can make it?” The main pointed back the way he came and shuffled around to loop his arm behind Virgil’s back. He hoisted him before Virgil had given him an answer and took his weight. The man was rugged, tall and broad, he could smell alcohol on his breath and his clothes hadn’t seen water and soap for some time. His rifle rested at his hip, the strap around his chest carrying it so the man could carry him. “Here, hold the torch.”

Virgil took the torch and held the light ahead of them, lighting the way as the man cut through the woods with ease.

“You got a name, boy?”

“Virgil.”

“Virgil, huh? Don’t hear many kids these days called Virgil. I’m Jackson.”

“Thanks for helping me out,” Virgil said as he hobbled along, his arm draped over Jackson’s shoulders. He didn’t really want to leave, he wanted to stay and encourage Scott to come back, to try and reason with him again but common sense won out. There wasn’t much he could do with a sprained ankle and nothing to contain an angry, hungry brother turned wolf.

“Ain’t no problem,” Jackson replied, he lifted Virgil higher and reached up to grip his wrist which cemented his hold around him. “Sooner we can get you somewhere warm and dry, the better. That wolf woulda made a tasty meal, but I got some rabbit back at the cabin to fill ya up.”

Virgil shuddered, horrified. The man couldn’t know that Scott was the wolf, but the idea that he would have eaten his brother made him beyond nauseous. He was glad Scott ran, it meant he was still alive and not dinner for Jackson. “I’m not all that hungry.”

“You ain’t a vegetarian, are ya? Don’t got a lot of vegetables, plenty of game but not much of anything else.” Jackson replied, he wasn’t out of breath, traipsing through uneven terrain with practically all of Virgil’s weight hadn’t even winded him. The guy was strong.

“No,” Virgil huffed, his breathing laboured with Jackson’s tight grip around his body. “Just shook up from the wolf, I thought I was done for back there.”

The lie was better than anything else he could offer, the wolf that had attacked and ultimately had changed Scott was still sinking in for him, he doubted Jackson would believe him if he told him the truth. He hissed as his boot scraped the ground, his ankle jarred by the change of position of his foot. Jackson hoisted him higher.

“I’d stick you on my back but I need my gun arm free.”

“This can’t be easy for you, let me try and support my leg.” Virgil said but Jackson’s grip didn’t loosen.

“Ain’t got the time for you to hobble, boy. That wolf could be following us and he ain’t gonna let his meal go that easy.”

Another shudder ran through him, the thought that Scott was behind them waiting patiently for an opportunity to eat him was both terrifying and depressing. “I think you scared him off.”

“Wolves don’t get scared, son. They only get angrier.”

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

By the time they made it to Jackson’s cabin, Virgil was sweating profusely whilst Jackson hadn’t so much as huffed a breath. It unnerved him that the man could travel that far with his weight and not show it. The light of the cabin showed his rescuer to be larger than he originally thought, his dark blond hair was messy and unkempt and his clothes were tattered and worn. Jackson lowered him onto the couch and unloaded his weapons, a hand gun from his back rested on the table by the door, the rifle rested against the door frame. Virgil watched him, spotted the machete strapped to his thigh in a leather sheath be removed and left alongside the hand gun. It’s no wonder Jackson wasn’t concerned with that amount of armament wrapped around him.

Jackson went to the kitchen area that sat to the right side of the open cabin space, he pulled a first aid kit from the wall cupboard and approached him. “I don’t reckon you can shower with your ankle all twisted, but I can help you to the bathroom after I wrap it. I ain’t got no fancy soap, but plenty of water to freshen you up.”

“Thanks,” Virgil said as he watched Jackson work. He wasn’t gentle and Virgil had to grit his teeth around the pain. When he was finished, Jackson lifted him and helped him shuffle to the bathroom. They walked through the archway at the rear of the room, fours doors, two each side of the narrow corridor were lit by a meagre lamp at the end of the corridor, a small window, black with the darkness of night, fitted squarely in the wall half way between floor and ceiling. Jackson stopped at the far right door, pushed it open and eased Virgil inside, he flicked on the lights and lowered Virgil onto the closed toilet seat and stepped back.

“I’ll leave you here, my mama has a crutch around here somewhere, I’ll go find it. You call when you’re done.”

Virgil nodded as Jackson walked away, he closed the door behind him. Virgil dropped his elbows to his knees and his head into his hands, finally taking a moment to tremble freely. His brother was a wolf, a werewolf, an impossible thing. They don’t exist, he told himself, they can’t and yet he’d seen it with his own eyes. He pushed himself up and hobbled to the sink, he turned the tap and cupped his hands in the cold water, splashed his face and stared at his reflection in the dirty, smeared mirror. The face staring back was a frightened, haggard man. He ignored it, wet his hands again and scrubbed at his neck, ran his hands through his hair before turning off the water.

A howl stiffened his body.

He turned to the window behind him, looked out but the light of the room made it impossible to see. He leaned to his left and flicked the switch, darkness filled the room as he turned back.

Hot breath steamed the window, blue eyes, wide and piercing looked right at him.

The wolf was the other side of the glass, watching him.

Virgil yelped and staggered back, he hit the sink edge and sunk to the floor. Scott’s eyes followed him. “Scott.”

The wolf bared his teeth, one paw then the other touching the window frame, the bulk of his body filled the window and Virgil suddenly felt very small. One paw raised, claws extended as it slowly dragged down the pane of glass that separated them, the screech vibrated through him as Virgil scrambled to his feet, edged his way around the room to near the door. The wolf growled.

“Virgil? You done in there?”

The wolf snarled and dropped away from the window, Virgil watched as he stepped back and was swallowed by the night, his eyes the only thing Virgil could see. Those eyes that didn’t look away. Virgil reached for the light switch and flicked it, the door opened then and Jackson stepped inside.

“That wolf spooked you good, huh?” Jackson said, he wrapped his hand around Virgil’s bicep and tugged him close to steady him. “I found mama’s crutch, she was short like you, so it should do you fine.”

Jackson nudged the crutch under Virgil’s shoulder and pulled him along. Virgil went willingly, even with the building trepidation of Jackson’s strength making him feel uncomfortable. Between his brother stalking him as a natural killing machine, and this man armed to the teeth and strong enough to manhandle him around, Virgil was feeling very vulnerable.

“How long have you lived out here?” Virgil said as they returned to the main living area. Jackson led him to the dining table between the kitchen and the couch, he pulled out the chair and nudged Virgil into it.

“Born here, right in this cabin.” Jackson said as he turned and headed for the stove, the pot bubbled away and he stirred it.

“And you live alone?”

Jackson bristled, the sight raised Virgil’s defences. “Ain’t none of us left, but me. Mama died years ago, I don’t know who my pa was, mama never had a good thing to say about him. My brothers didn’t stick around, all went into town and found themselves wives.”

“Why did you stay?” Virgil queried gently, unsure if his questioning would be allowed to continue for long.

“Now why would I want to leave? I got everything I want here, nothing out there but people telling me what I can and can’t do.” Jackson spun, spoon in hand, he stretched his arms out and seemed to revel in his home. “Ain’t nothing better than home, boy. This here is my castle.”

Jackson turned back to his pot and Virgil narrowed his eyes, the hunch of his shoulders belied the earlier excitement he had moments ago. He glanced about the cabin, the fireplace had been lit and the heat filled the room gently. It sat proud against the wall, the couch facing it. The windows around the open expanse were tall and undressed, a lone cabin in the woods didn’t need privacy. The carpet was old, everything was old. The pictures on the walls were dusty and abandoned, the tables grimy and neglected. Nothing seemed cared for in this man’s castle.

Virgil jumped when a bowl was dropped down in front of him, a spoon clattered alongside it. He turned and faced Jackson.

“Eat up,” was all he said. He stepped back and retrieved his own bowl, sat at the opposite end of the rectangular table and eagerly spooned the broth into his mouth. Jackson watched him, Virgil looked at the bowl and sniffed, the smell wasn’t appealing, the look of it put him off.

“I’m not really hungry.” He said gently, he pushed the bowl away but Jackson smiled, it wasn’t a friendly smile and Virgil found he didn’t like the menacing look.

Jackson lowered his spoon as the wolf howled again.

The bang at the door startled him, Jackson hissed a curse and stood, he pushed himself up and stomped toward the door as the thump happened again. Virgil pushed his chair back, reached for the crutch and waited. Whatever it was was throwing itself at the door and Virgil knew it could only be the wolf, Scott was trying to get in.

Jackson reached for the rifle, he cocked it and pulled the door open, brought the gun up and slowly headed outside. With the door still open, Virgil pushed out of his chair, stepped slowly toward the entrance and peered outside. Jackson had headed right, rifle raised to the darkness. Virgil weighed his options.

Stay with the creepy, lone guy in a warm and secure cabin, or head back out into the unsecured black with his wolf brother hunting him down.

Scott won.

Virgil glanced to the table picked up the gun and machete, poking the gun into his jeans and the machete in his hand, the torch from earlier nowhere near enough he’d risk stepping away from the door to get it. He sucked in a deep lungful of air and bravado then stepped out.

The flattened grassland that bordered the cabin made him feel vulnerable, but it soon gave way to the nervousness of the darkened forest surrounding it. He took his time, choosing silence over speed. Scott the wolf could track him with even the smallest sounds but Jackson couldn’t, right now it was Jackson he wanted to evade more. The sweat began to build, a scent for Scott that he couldn’t hide, but his fear, pain, adrenaline and nerves didn’t give him an option. He hoped there was a river nearby, he could lose both Jackson and Scott that way, he focused his hearing to listen for the sound of running water. When nothing like it could be heard, he glanced up into the sky to find something to follow, it wouldn’t do to walk in circles.

“Virgil!”

Jackson had noticed his absence, Virgil’s heart quickened at the anger in the man’s voice. That Jackson seemed angry rather than concerned only made him think that Virgil’s choice to flee was the right one. An accompanying howl from the other direction stopped Virgil, he stood and turned his head, refusing to turn his body in case it turned him around and back into the danger to either of his pursuers. Jackson was behind and to his right, Scott was ahead and to his left, Scott obviously able to move quicker. Another deep breath and Virgil pushed on, he headed slightly right and hoped it would put distance between them both.

Their campsite was lost to him, Scott had screamed at him to run when the change had taken him, Virgil hadn’t but when wolf Scott had growled and bared his teeth, Virgil quickly got moving. He had no idea where that was but his gear was there, along with Scott’s own. He had nothing but the clothes on his back, a stolen hand gun and machete, his survival training (which didn’t cover fleeing people trying to kill you) and a crutch for a sprained ankle.

He was screwed.

If Jackson tried to shoot him, could he fire a gun? He certainly didn’t like the idea of swiping a machete at him. And what of Scott? There was no way he would even think of using them on him.

“Virgil! Where are you?” Jackson bellowed. “It’s not safe out there, you hear him howling? He’s coming for you!”

Jackson didn’t sound as angry now, a ploy if ever Virgil heard one. He ignored the man and carried on, the ground was muggy with rain, the crutch dug in and he cursed as he stumbled. Another howl filled the forest, as if in counterpoint to Jackson.

“Even as a wolf, you have to have the last word.” Virgil grumbled as he found his footing again. He glanced at the stars and adjusted his direction, he kept listening for running water, they had camped not far from a small river, if he found it he could follow it downhill and out of the woods.

Virgil hoped he wasn’t going in circles, the darkness only highlighted his own disorientation and without a compass, or even decent lighting so he could map the trees around him, he started to question his choice of directions.

A break in the trees had him breathe a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the ground below him disappeared, his foot dropped down and carried his body with it. He yelped as he slammed onto the slope and rolled down the bank, the crutch flew away from him, the machete moments later.

He grunted with each impact, a tree he couldn’t see in the dark stopped him as his ribs smacked into the trunk, his breath is forced from his lungs at the impact and he sucked in another. Blazing pain consumed his torso, he flopped to the grassy ground, desperate to pant through the pain but knowing it would bring on more. As he laid there he quickly realised, the gun he carried behind him in his jeans is gone.

Great. He’s now lost all of his weapons, has more injuries and lost his direction and his crutch, all whilst still trying to get away from a crazy human and a wolf brother.

“You don’t got the best of luck, do ya, boy?” Jackson said. Virgil opened his eyes and groaned as the man he tried to run from loomed over him with a grin on his face. “I been tracking in these woods my whole life, you think a city boy can hide from me?”

“Worth a shot,” Virgil muttered. Jackson fisted his shirt and wrenched him to his feet, the pain locked his lungs and he could only hang limp in the larger man’s hold.

“Your brother got away from Mama, she was hungry and he had to hit her with that stun thing but he got bit didn’t he? You won’t be so lucky, Mama’s still hungry.” Jackson sneered.

Virgil grimaced and tried to fight back, knowing there were two wolves out here meant he didn’t have a chance on his own. He only hoped that Scott wouldn’t get hurt by Mama. He kicked out his good leg and caught Jackson hard on his knee, the man growled and rattled him like a rag doll. Virgil clawed his face and continued to kick, his ribs protested but he managed to squirm free and thumped to the ground. Jackson doubled over, his hands over his face and Virgil took the chance to kick Jackson’s downturned head. The man screamed, more in frustration than pain, Virgil ignored it all and scrambled away. Jackson dropped on top of him, he gripped his hair and slammed his head hard to the ground.

Before he blacked out, Virgil swore he could hear an anguished howl.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

When he woke, the first thing he noticed was the pain; his chest was on fire, his ankle ached in protest at the over exertion and his head pounded. He blinked open his eyes, and groaned as the light he’d been starved of most of the night hurt, the walls around him were brick and grimy, damp with moisture and horridly bloody. He knew then that this was Mama’s dining room. The only entrance was a set of stairs in the corner of the room, one single wooden door at the top. Virgil recognised it as one of the doors in the cabin’s corridor.

A whimper from the corner pulled Virgil from the ground, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked toward the sound. Scott, the wolf, stood with a collar around his neck, the attached chain taut with his efforts to reach Virgil.

“Scott,” Virgil moved to scoot nearer, but the chain around his wounded ankle stopped him. Scott whimpered again.

Virgil let his head rest against the wall, the manacles around his wrists were heavy and he dropped them in his lap. He wanted to sigh but his ribs protested that idea so he settled for short breaths instead. “I’m going to get eaten by Mama wolf, this is the last time I listen to you for a vacation idea.”

He watched Scott look at him, his head tipped. “At least you’re not the one eating me.”

A sharp bark made him jump, his ribs hurt at the movement. “Don’t do that!”

Scott whimpered and lowered his ears, the apology not going unnoticed by Virgil. Or the recognition in his brother’s eyes.

“Did you let them catch you?”

Scott’s tail wagged. Virgil groaned. “Now we both die, you should’ve got away.”

Scott shook his head in a very human way, Virgil frowned. “Was that a no?”

Scott barked.

“You have a plan?”

Another bark.

“Care to share?”

Scott tipped his head again, Virgil got the hint. “Yeah, not that easy, I get it. So I’m supposed to sit around and wait?”

Another bark.

The door above opened and Scott turned toward it, he growled as Jackson stepped down, a grey wolf followed behind him.

“Dinner time, Mama.” Jackson crooned.

The wolf leapt from behind him, Jackson continued down the rest of the steps alone as Mama growled and stalked toward Virgil. Scott snarled and gnashed, he thrashed about and yanked at his restraints in blind panic, Virgil could only watch as Mama closed in. He learned from Scott’s earlier tugging of his boot to pull his feet in, he made himself a small target and raised his hands.

Mama lunged for his neck and Virgil dropped to his side, her teeth snapped at air and she pounced to straddle his body. He kicked out with his free leg as he batted her snout with the heavy manacles around his wrists. The fight wouldn’t last long and all it would take was one bite to a vital area and he’d be down and defenceless, she’d eat him alive.

She whimpered at a hard kick to her flank, staggered back to regain herself as Jackson appeared and kicked him hard in the ribs. He screamed and curled up, huffed short breaths as Mama approached again. She was old, Virgil realised, so old that her son had to help her feed.

He was kicked again and he heard Scott as he snarled and barked behind Jackson. Virgil coughed and groaned, his body weakened from too much too fast.

“Quit fighting, boy. Ain’t no getting outta this.” Jackson hissed with another kick, Scott growled behind him and Jackson turned to him. “You shut up! Once you change back, Mama’s gonna eat you too.”

Virgil brought his hands up again, Mama looked angry after he’d so rudely kicked her for trying to eat him. She snarled and lunged, he pulled his hands apart, the chain between them taut and thrust the chain between her open jaws, she tried to back away but he grabbed fistfuls of her main and held on. Her claws scrapped at his torso, more pain flared to add to the rest. He screamed at the agony but knew if he let go she’d rip his throat out the next chance she had.

Jackson saw what he was doing and grabbed at his hands, the grip was painful and he knew he’d lose the hold on her. He couldn’t fight them both.

Then luck finally came his way.

He heard the snap, just as Jackson did because the other man’s eyes widened. A growl so full of rage filled the room and Jackson lunged to his feet and backed away. He didn’t get far as Scott threw himself at the man, Virgil couldn’t see them as they tumbled out of view but Mama suddenly wasn’t trying to reach him now, she pulled to get free. Virgil held on, he refused to release her so she could hurt Scott. It was a stalemate, their positions were reversed but he kept his grip on her even as she clawed at him for a different reason.

The door above crashed open and footsteps clattered down, Virgil turned and the relief that flooded him almost caused him to lose his grip.

“What the hell?” Gordon gaped at the scene, Virgil spotted the tranquilliser gun in his hand. He lifted it and fired at Mama, she whimpered and swayed.

“Don’t shoot the other one,” Virgil yelled, his ribs hated him for it. Scott suddenly appeared and grabbed Mama’s scruff with his teeth, he pulled her back as she sagged in his hold, the tranquilliser finally taking her down. He dragged her away from Virgil and he let his body slump to the ground in exhaustion. He rolled his head to the side and watched as Jackson yelled and ran to her.

“Mama!”

“Mama?” Gordon said, he pointed the gun at Jackson as if it was his finger. “Should I shoot him too?”

“Please,” Virgil groaned. Scott whimpered in agreement. Virgil closed his eyes, he listened to the gun firing and the eventual sound of Jackson as he groaned and slumped to the ground. “I really want to go home now.”

“Not without Scott,” Gordon replied, his voice was closer so Virgil opened his eyes and saw Gordon squatted by his head.

Scott laid alongside Virgil, he thumbed toward him. “That’s Scott.”

He watched as Gordon and Scott looked at each other, the younger brother squinted his eyes in appraisal. “Seriously?”

Virgil shook his head, the motion only aggravated his concussion and exhaustion further. “Jackson just tried to feed me to his mother, Gordon. Trust me, that’s Scott.”

Gordon shrugged and stepped away as he muttered about a key for the restraints, he stopped his approach to the two unconscious figures and frowned. “Mama ain’t so wolfy now.”

Virgil lifted his head and looked down his body to the crumpled forms of Jackson and his very human, very naked mother. “I hope you brought reinforcements, because I’m not the first meal Mama’s had delivered.”

Gordon returned and worked open the locks on his wrists and ankle, he tried to sit up but Gordon’s hand and Scott’s paw pushed him down again. “You’ve got deep lacerations, let me look you over before you start moving around.”

“A sprained ankle,” Virgil said, he held up his hand and waved him off. “And cracked ribs and a concussion. Can we go home now?”

“Come on, big fella.” Gordon conceded and scooped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders, he eased him up as Scott stood and stepped back giving them room. He whimpered suddenly and Virgil wondered if he had been injured during his fight with Jackson, Scott dropped to the ground again and laid flat on his side, his body curled in on itself. Virgil’s jaw fell open as Scott’s wolf form writhed and twisted, fur fell from his body and a sickening crunching sound filled the room, he whimpered as he changed, the sounds turned from wolf to the very human groans of his older brother in pain.

Just like Mama, Scott was very human and very naked. His arms shook as he pushed up, stuttered movements of joints that ached and lacked use. He groaned with his back to his family, head dipped low. “I need clothes.”

Gordon helped steady Virgil against the wall, gave one last look at Mama and Jackson before he headed back to the stairs.

“You okay?” Virgil said with a slow breath.

“Exhausted.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed tiredly.

“I wasn’t going to eat you, you know.” Scott turned his head and looked at Virgil’s torso. “Look at you,” he breathed, his eyes wide. “She tried to tear you apart.”

“Tried being the operative word,” Virgil said as he met Scott’s gaze. “And you tried to eat my foot.”

“I was trying to get your boot off,” Scott grumbled. “You sprained your ankle, I knew you had to take the boot off but wolf me thought yanking it would do it.”

“It hurt!” Virgil protested. “And you chased me! You told me to run and you chased me, I spent the entire night thinking you wanted to eat me. And the creepy staring through the window thing, you took ten years off my life doing that. Then you clawed at the window!”

“I was trying to get you out of that house, that’s why I rammed the door! Do you know what that guy smelled like?”

“He carried me through the woods, I got a pretty good whiff of him.”

“He smelled like her,” Scott pointed to Mama. “As soon as I knew what was going on, I had to get you out of the house. When you ran, I headed back to the camp and got the emergency beacon from the pack, not easy with paws and a snout, I ripped up the pack, activated it and hoped that they’d track the signal.”

Virgil realised then that all the time he’d been running around trying to get away from Scott and Jackson, his brother was calling for help. “Well I feel stupid.”

“Why?” Scott frowned.

Virgil waved his hands in exasperation. “I let the guy take me back to his house, ran around in the woods lost, fell down and hurt myself twice and thought you were trying to eat me. So professional.”

Scott looked at him, head tipped in a very wolf like fashion. “Virgil, that guy has done this before, you had so much thrown at you that you did the best you could. You survived. You even held your own against Mama, you fought a wolf and won.”

Gordon returned then halting the discussion further, Virgil watched as he handed Scott the clothes and his brother dressed silently. Gordon squatted down and looped his arm around Virgil, gently pulled him to his feet and he groaned at the effort. Scott approached as he pushed his arm through the sleeve of the shirt, he tugged it down and let it settle on its own as he took Virgil’s other side.

Together they left the cabin and Virgil wondered when back up was coming to deal with Jackson and Mama, he looked up at the roar of the GDF flyers coming in to land. The last of his reserves dribbled away and Scott hoisted him up, he didn’t seem to have a problem holding his weight.

Virgil realised then that Gordon had known where they were, the cabin and campsite weren’t close to each other. “Gordon, how’d you know where to find us?”

“We followed the tracker.” Gordon said.

Virgil turned to Scott. “Where’d you put it?”

“I swallowed it, didn’t have any pockets in my fur.”

“That’ll be a doozy getting it back,” Gordon replied, amused. “So werewolf, huh? Do we have to lock you up every full moon now?”

“I’m not sure. It wasn’t a full moon tonight, I have no idea how this works.” Scott said, Virgil could see the concern in his eyes.

“We’ll figure it out, maybe Brains can find a cure to reverse it.” Virgil replied with a squeeze to Scott’s shoulder.

“Maybe.”

“So if you bit us we’d turn too?” Gordon said, they eased Virgil onto the bed in the infirmary and Scott pulled back his torn shirt.

“Not going to happen,” Scott replied sternly. He worked on Virgil’s lacerations as Gordon gave him water and painkillers. “Besides, we don’t know if it can happen with a scratch from their claws as well, we’ll both need to be monitored.”

Virgil had a sudden sinking feeling, Mama had left her mark on them both and he really didn’t want to terrorise his family anymore than Mama had him. Scott picked up on his unease.

“It’ll be fine,” he said gently. Scott’s poker face worked well on everyone else, but Virgil knew he was scared too.

Gordon reached for his belt. “Alan, were good to go.”

Thunderbird Two fired up and lifted from the ground, when both Scott and Gordon had finished treating Virgil, Gordon pushed Scott into the second bed. Once they were both settled, he headed to the cockpit and left them to rest. Virgil watched as Scott curled up on his side, very much like a wolf, he smiled.

“Hey, Scott?”

“Hmm?”

“No more camping trips please?”

Scott chuckled. “No more camping trips.”


End file.
